By Anabel Barnett, Development Department Intern
Each summer, Stroud Water Research Center welcomes a new group of interns who are eager to participate in research projects and to begin what may become their life’s work — a career in the sciences. Our internship program, now in its 48th year, has ushered through hundreds of interns who have come in search of meaningful work.
The COVID-19 pandemic prevented us from bringing interns onto our campus this year but we are fortunate to have four interns working remotely. Intern Anabel Barnett interviewed them and shares a little bit about them (and herself) here.
One of eleven young scientists selected for the Environmental Data Initiative Summer Fellowship Program, Kyle Zollo-Venecek is working closely with Dr. Charles Dow in the Information Services Group to “compile, clean, and publish stream water-quality and quantity time series data” collected from White Clay Creek. Zollo-Venecek received his B.S. in Chemistry from Bates College and is working remotely from Puerto Rico. His favorite quarantine activity is hiking in El Yunque National Forest.
Sylvie Randall is a rising junior at Washington College earning her bachelor’s degree in Biology, while minoring in Public Health. She is interning with the Microbiology Group, working with the team on a five-year project identifying water-quality indicator bacteria in White Clay Creek. Randall’s favorite quarantine activity is rereading books she read a number of years ago, such as the Hunger Games trilogy.
Johanna Klein is a rising senior at Columbia University studying Chemical Engineering. She is interning with the Biogeochemistry Group through the National Science Foundation’s Research Experience for Undergraduates Program. Klein is working with data collected in 2019 relating to the presence, levels, and sources of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the White Clay Creek. She is graphing this data to better understand DOC trends over time and how other factors, like weather and water temperature, affect data. Klein’s favorite quarantine activity is doing the crossword puzzle every Saturday with her family.
Anabel Barnett is a rising sophomore at Kenyon College studying English Literature with a concentration in Creative Writing as well as Spanish Literature. She is interning with the Communications and Development Department. Barnett has been designing logos, postcards, and flyers for the Stroud Center’s upcoming virtual and socially distanced events, like the Clean Water Paddle Push and the Fore Fresh Water Golf Invitational, as well as organizing a Plastic-Free Challenge for Stroud Center staff to participate in for the duration of July. Barnett is using quarantine to catch up on her ever-expanding reading list, and she is currently trudging through War and Peace.
